ROME
I was such an idiot.
I’d been flirting with her the whole night, and now that she flirted back and kissed me, I just stood there until she shut the door right into my face.
And I still did nothing. Who does that?
I’d been waiting for that time.
I thought I needed to do something, hoping it was not too late. Now I might not be so lucky to get the chance again. So I did the obvious. I knocked. She did not respond, obviously, and chose to ignore me.
I dialed her number, but it went on and on until my call was sent to her voicemail.
I knew we were both surprised by the sudden turn of events, but I would be the luckiest man to kiss her and do something more.
But too late for that. She might not want to see me or shut me out for the entire week.
So I decided on a simple way. I typed a message.
ROME: We need to talk
I went down after sending the message. Zee was still waiting for me.
“Are we going home?” he asked from the driver’s seat.
“Yeah.”
I checked my phone again. She didn’t reply. Great.
ROME: Storm, we need to talk about what happened at your doorstep.
Sent.
ROME: It wasn’t an accident. I was just surprised, and if you only gave me a second to-
No, no, no. I deleted it and shoved my phone into my pocket.
“Where to, boss? Penthouse?”
“Yeah.”
When I arrived at the penthouse, I was exhausted mainly because of what I did not do. I was sitting on the bed, deciding whether to call, text, or email her. Then my phone chimed. It was Carly. I grinned like a fool.
CARLY: Forget about it.
ROME: What if I don’t want to?
CARLY: Not my problem
ROME: You kissed me
CARLY: Thanks for reminding me of my humiliation, dude.
I called her. I didn’t have the patience to wait and reply.
“What?”
“I know we were caught in our moments-”
“What moments are you talking about? As far as I know, it was the champagne and the burger talking.”
I barked out, laughing. “So no moments? And that was the champagne and the burger talking, huh? So maybe there must be something in our drinks, a new drug they put in the patties?”
“I forgot about it already, Langston. You should too.”
“We flirted-”
“Did we what now?”
“Storm, lie it into my face, but it’s not okay lying to yourself. That’s so low, sweetheart. I like you, and we have this connection, fireworks or something. That’s the truth. And you’re not so subtle yourself.”
“You know we can’t.”
“Or you won’t. Look, I know you are still stuck in your past-”
“I’m not. I’m over with my ex. He dumped me, and I’m okay with it.”
“Then what’s the problem?”
“You are my problem.”
“Because I’m your boss?”
Way to go, Langston. Silence fell between us, then dragged into more silence.
“We will give it a try. I can give you another job if it is hard for you to adjust.”
“I’m not ready.”
“So do I, Storm. But when are we gonna be? Life is too short, and there will never be a right time if you only keep waiting for it.”
“You know I’m not from around here. I may only be here for another month or just face my worst nightmare and go home.”
“It’s worth a try. I’ll be here at the penthouse until six if you are willing.”
***
After the call, I tried not to let my hopes up after I didn’t receive another message from her.
I barely got an hour of sleep. I tossed and turned in bed with a raging hard-on. My mind was somewhere with viridian eyes as she stared at me in shock. All I could think of was how soft her skin was and how it would feel to kiss her again.
Her position wouldn’t be a problem. I could hire her at SH Global. I wasn’t sure if she was willing to gamble her job over her feelings, but I was ready to take a risk as far as I knew.
After I went for a jog, I checked my watch. It was ten after six.
“Did someone come?” I asked Zee.
“Anyone specific?” His question was playful.
“No one.”
“No one.”
“Take a day off. I’ll be at the cabin the whole weekend.”
“Thanks, man.”
Once he left, I went up and took a shower. I put on a shirt and jeans and grabbed the key to my Hammer.
I still waited for another ten minutes, hoping she was just late. But the hoping it made so damn exhausting.
I expected not to spend alone this weekend. My drive to the cabin was damn long and more tedious than usual. It was probably because I expected too much. I guessed I had to suck it up as someone like Carly Storm wouldn’t drop to my lap in a gift wrap.
My tires screeched in the gravel as I hit the brake hard. With my mouth hung open and eyes wide, I tried to check the car before mine to make sure I wasn’t being tricked.
Well, I take it back. Not that she’s dropped onto my lap in a gift wrap, you get my point.
She came out from the driver’s seat, throwing her hands in the air. “Care to open the damn thing? I’ve been waiting for half an hour because you’re late!”
I rolled the window down and grinned. “You could have called me so I could come an hour early.”
“Are you gonna let me in, or we settle it here?” She was glaring at me. And she was even hotter when she was pissed.
I opened the app on my phone and entered the code. The gate slid open. She drove her car into the driveway of my cabin, parked, and climbed out.
I followed her and parked my Hammer beside her car. I took a deep breath to calm my stupid heart before I went out and walked in her direction.
With her hands on her hips, her eyes were still narrowed. She still looked hot in her crop top, plaid, very short denim shorts, and boots.
I cupped her face, shut my eyes close, and leaned down to press my lips into hers, unmoving. I relished that moment and took her sigh as a sign that we were on the same page, considering she had not yet knelt me in my crotch.
Then I pulled away. Her eyes were still closed, and I kissed her forehead.
When she opened her eyes, she asked, “What are we even doing?”
“We’ll talk inside.” I held her hand, and she didn’t resist. “I’m glad you made up your mind.”
“Not yet.”
“At least you are here.” I opened the door and let her in.
“And you’re late.” She took her boots off.
I chuckled. “I wouldn’t be if I didn’t wait for you at the penthouse.”
“I don’t wanna be seen there, walking into my boss’ building on the weekend.”
“I don’t give a damn about what people say. It’s my life, and I live as I please.”
“Maybe that’s our differences. I need to get my bag in the car,” she said as she settled on the couch.
“I’ll take it for you.”
“Maybe later.” She pulled me with her.
I sat beside her, pulled her into me, and tapped my lap.
She straddled me and leaned down. “I didn’t come here to sleep with you,” she said before she kissed me.
“I take what you can offer. I’m easy to please.” I kissed her back. With a sigh, I cupped the back of her neck and angled my lips so I could kiss her the way I had imagined last night. She tasted sweet, and her soft and her plump lips were already addicting.
I bit her bottom lip when she started to dominate me. She fisted my hair and gripped it tight as she rocked into me.
My skin burned. My dick just turned to steel, and it didn’t help when she moaned and gave me a way to slip my tongue into her mouth, tasting her better. Our tongues tangled.
Our bodies pressed together.
Our moans echoed.
“Storm,” I said to her mouth before I broke the kiss. “Unless you change your mind.” I kissed her one more time.
Silently even panting, she got off my lap. Before she could slip away from me, I held her hand and pulled herself into me.
“I didn’t stop because I was done. You decide. For me, I have no limits, but you can have them all. As I said, I take what you can give me.”
She was turned on. Her pupils were dilated, and I loved the look, flushed face, and bee-stung lips.
She met my gaze and held it for several silent moments. “You don’t know me.”
“Then tell me who you are.” I tucked her hair behind her ear. “And you’re single right?”
“I don’t wanna see that one day you won’t look at me the way you look at me right now.”
“I can assure you. You won’t be anything less in my eyes.”
“I can’t kiss my boss.”
“I don’t mind. And I’m not your boss right now.”
“You should.”
“I really don’t. You work for me on weekdays.”
“So I can only kiss you on the weekend?” That made me smirk.
“You can kiss me every day, every minute, if you like.”
“You’re not even serious.” She rose to sit beside me.
“I am. I can hire you at SH Global if you are worried about your work at the office.”
“It’s not that.”
“Let’s worry about anything outside the cabin. I wanna talk about anything but business and work.”
She took off her plaid and laid her head on my lap.
My gaze fell on her exposed flat tummy. “Let me guess, one thing you got when you went rogue was your piercing. Is there more I should know about?”
She checked my arm. “How about you? Do you have ink?”
“Where normal people can’t see.” I grinned at her.
“Really?” Her eyes lit up. “Am I one of those normal people?”
“If you play it nicely, you might get to take a peek,” I teased her.
And her eyes widened, and her cheeks turned bright red. I knew her mind had gone south.
“Is it on your abs?”
“Maybe down. How about you? Where are your other piercing?”
“Are we alone?”
I raised a brow. “Yes.”
“Good.” She then came to my lap and pulled her shirt over her head.
“Well, isn’t it getting more interesting?”
“Take your shirt off.”
“I have a better idea.” I lifted her off and took her with me upstairs, where we could explore our ink and piercing.